London to Hamburg by train
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Prices explained

At Loco2 we believe in price transparency. We use real data from Loco2 searches to estimate the cheapest fares you should be able to find for your journey.

The cheapest price is the lowest fare we've ever found for this journey. These prices can usually be found by searching when booking opens but they vary due to availability, which depends on factors like the day of the week or time of year.

More popular journeys include 30 day advance and 7 day advance prices. These are updated every two weeks using prices we've found by searching exactly 7 or 30 days from the most recent Thursday (we picked Thursday because this is when average prices are usually found).

30 day and 7 day prices fluctuate based on demand and availability at the time of search. For example, the 7-day price in summer is likely to be more expensive than the same journey in winter.

Prices are sourced in GBP and converted to other currencies using the daily market exchange rate.

We're always seeking to improve how price-checking works, and we welcome feedback on how we can make it better.

More advice about how to find the cheapest tickets can be found in our infographic.

Travelling from London to Hamburg by train

Fast trains from London to Hamburg take around 8 hours and 42 minutes, covering a distance of approximately 718 kilometres. There are frequent services on the rail route between London and Hamburg.

Are there direct trains from London to Hamburg?

Journeys between London and Hamburg usually involve 2 changes of train.

We usually find around 8 departures on the route from London to Hamburg every weekday that leave enough time to change trains without waiting around for longer than necessary.

Trains usually run with a similar frequency on weekends.

How long is the train journey from London to Hamburg?

The London to Hamburg train travel time is normally about 8 hours and 42 minutes, whatever time you make the journey.

What are the London to Hamburg train times and schedule?

On weekdays the earliest train to Hamburg is usually scheduled to depart London around 06:13 and the last train is around 20:04.
At weekends the first train of the day leaves London around 06:57, and the last at 20:03.

What's the London to Hamburg train price?

The earlier you book the better, and the cheapest tickets we've found for trains from London to Hamburg are $80.86.

Trains departing 30 days in advance will cost around $80 while booking 7 days in advance the price is around $150. Booking on the day of travel is likely to be more expensive, so it is worth booking in advance if you can to save money.

When to book London to Hamburg train tickets?

Trains for this journey usually open for booking around 6 months in advance.
If booking is not yet open for your dates then you can set a booking alert to receive an email on the day that the cheapest tickets are released for your journey from London to Hamburg by train.

Which train companies operate between London and Hamburg?

More than one train company operates on the route from London to Hamburg, so you’ll be travelling with one or more of the following rail operators:

Eurocity (EC)

Eurostar

Intercity

Intercity-Express (ICE)

TGV

You can check which train you’ll be travelling on by looking for the train name in search results.

The train journey from London to Hamburg is very easy. Eurostar trains from London connect very efficiently at Brussels Midi station with Deutsche Bahn ICE high-speed trains bound for Frankfurt-am-Main. Passengers for Hamburg take this train as far as Cologne Hauptbahnhof, changing there onto a direct train to Hamburg.

There are many other options for travelling by train from London to Hamburg. Some passengers trim the Cologne to Hamburg journey time by travelling via Hannover, but that requires an extra change of train. There are routes via Paris and yet others which use Thalys trains for the Brussels to Cologne leg, but these are invariably more expensive than itineraries which rely on Deutsche Bahn services from Brussels to Cologne.

On your journey from London to Hamburg by train, you’ll speed across the territory of four countries: England, France, Belgium and Germany. As the latter three countries are all members of Schengen, there is little by way of border formalities.

London to Brussels

Board a Eurostar service from London St Pancras to Brussels. Little more than an hour after leaving London you’ll already be in northern France, speeding through Flanders fields towards Lille Europe, where many but not all Brussels-bound Eurostar trains make an intermediate stop. Some trains make up to three additional stops – at Ebbsfleet, Ashford and Calais.

Eurostar trains from London terminate at Brussels Midi station. Trains run every five minutes from Brussels Midi to Brussels Central (for the city centre). Your Eurostar ticket is valid for this short onward hop within Brussels. At Brussels Midi, there are good onward connections with a choice of Thalys or German ICE trains for direct links to Germany, as well as Belgian (or sometimes Dutch) Intercity trains to cities across the wider BeNeLux region.

Remember to factor in at least half an hour for Eurostar’s airline-style baggage check prior to boarding your train. This is a light-touch security scan, and there are no restrictions on taking liquids on board Eurostar trains.

Brussels to Cologne

From Brussels-Midi there are up to nine high-speed trains to Cologne each day – a mix of Thalys and ICE services. The journey takes just under two hours and most trains make just a couple of stops along the way.

The first part of the journey from Brussels traverses the flat lands of Brabant to reach Liège-Guillemins station. East from Liège, the train joins a new high-speed line which cuts in tunnels through hilly country to reach the German border just before Aachen. Beyond Aachen, the train traverses flat terrain to reach the Rhineland city of Cologne, where you arrive at the city’s main station (the Hauptbahnhof), located on the west bank of the Rhine right by Cologne Cathedral.

Cologne to Hamburg

The four-hour journey from Cologne to Hamburg wins no prizes for exceptional scenery. Hourly trains on this route cross the Ruhr industrial region and then track north-east across the North German Plain, pausing in Bremen before heading east to Hamburg. Most trains make about eight intermediate stops on the run from Cologne Hauptbahnhof to Hamburg Hauptbahnhof. Several types of train serve this route. There are German ICE and IC services, the occasional Swiss EuroCity and also trains run by private operator HKX.

At certain times, Loco2 will show additional options from Cologne to Hamburg via Hannover. Distance-wise this route is longer, but the journey via Hannover fills occasional gaps in the timetable and takes no longer than the direct trains.